UPDATE Friday 11:00 AM Liam has been nothing but friendly and cordial to almost all who have cared for, inspected, probed, and prodded him but today he made it clear to us both who the one person aside from us that he truly has affection for and this lucky person is Terres. She is the Director of the “Child Life” program and two different times today after seeing her in the distance, Liam has pulled us and his IV pole directly to her with a giant smile on his face. He reaches out for her and she drops whatever she is doing to bend down and take his hands. He literally laid his head in her hands today as if her touch makes everything seem a little less scary.
It broke my heart to see him so desperate for a safe haven aside from us. It is just this kind of bond that we want him to forge with nurses, doctors, and those who will be caring for him. It is part of my motivation to not split his treatment between hospitals regardless of the cost of not being considered in-network at MSKCC. A child needs to feel safe and the majority of the people (not all) we have interacted with know this to be true and go above and beyond to take the child’s feelings and fears into consideration. The few that don’t, stick out like a sore thumb and you wonder how they survive for any period of time in a place that is so committed to children.
